When it comes to joining the Phoenix Police Department’s recruitment efforts, many are called but too many are dropping out.
As Chief Matt Giordano and aides appeared at the Sept. 3 City Council Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee to discuss the department’s improving recruitment rate, Councilman Jim Waring expressed alarm over the fact that 30% of police academy trainees and first-year officers quit over the last three years.
The department told the panel that 478 recruits were hired over a three-year period, between 2022 and 2024, but only 305 became sworn officers while 27 others opted for civilian jobs, leaving 146 who decided police work just wasn’t for them…